In 1927, the US brought in weeping lovegrass for cattle and erosion control; one strain was later planted across 2 million acres of Oklahoma and Texas

The American Great Plains were a dusty wasteland in the 1930s, with the topsoil being blown away from millions of acres. Years before that crisis fully hit, a hardy, thin-stemmed bunchgrass from the highlands of East Africa called "weeping lovegrass," had already been brought into the country, and it would go on to become one of the tools used to fight the erosion that followed. Today, almost a century later, it covers large areas of Oklahoma and Texas, and most people driving along Interstate 40 would have no idea it is not native to the US.

According to the U.S. Forest Service’s review of this species, a variety of this grass (weeping lovegrass/Eragrostis curvula) was collected from north-central Tanganyika (now Tanzania) in 1927 and brought into the United States soon after as part of a wider search for hardy forage and erosion control plants in the drought-stricken Southwest.

Why America needed to import a foreign grass to save them


Weeping lovegrass was planted in the United States in Stillwater, Oklahoma, in 1935 (per the review). Soil conservation agents wanted a plant that could quickly germinate, grow deep fibrous roots, and stabilise the hillsides with little water and effort. Weeping lovegrass provided all three; during 1936-1945 it was sown widely throughout the South Western and South Central U.S., as part of the nation's efforts to reduce erosion.

A specific ecotype of this grass (known as ‘A-67’) was planted and successfully established on around 2,000,000 acres throughout Oklahoma and Northwest Texas between 1940 and 1980 (per the USDA review). It became a popular choice to include in the Conservation Reserve Program. Ranchers would plant this grass as a source of forage. The grass also became common along roadside areas.

An invasive twist

This grass began to spread. It travelled along roadways, became popular to include in ornamental gardens, and by the 1960s and 1970s had made it to the East Coast, including Long Island, New York. A 2019 peer-reviewed study titled “Characterizing the Spatial Distribution of Eragrostis Curvula (Weeping Lovegrass) in New Jersey (United States of America) Using Logistic Regression,” published in the journal Environments, cites earlier research describing the plant's "aggressive spatial competitiveness" as a driver of reduced native plant diversity and disrupted natural disturbance regimes in invaded areas: a pattern this study then builds on to map the grass's spread across New Jersey, rather than a finding the 2019 paper itself set out to establish.

It is officially listed as an invasive, non-native species on the Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States, due to its ability to form dense monocultures. A plant that was originally brought in to help stabilize damaged land is now, in some regions, considered a threat to the land it once helped protect, even as it is still classified as invasive today (per the review). It can cause issues by taking over native grasses in sensitive habitats such as the rare maritime grasslands of Long Island.

What this says about our quick fixes

This is a very millennial tale to me. The grass was brought over to solve a problem in an effort to help. For decades it was used and seen as a success. However, in recent years we’ve slowly come to realise that the grass has caused issues. It’s similar to many solutions implemented nowadays. Whilst this grass wasn’t a mistake per se, it likely helped protect soil that could have been blown into the Gulf of Mexico. Its spread shows just how easy it can be for an emergency solution from the 30s to become a long-term issue. Overall, the grass grows along roadsides in Oklahoma, doing what it was bred to do. Whether it is a success story or a cautionary tale depends on where you are in America.